These calculators use the modified counting system being used for the first time in Western Australia. It treats votes slightly differently to the Senate at the point where a candidate achieves a full quota of votes.

The ABC also makes allocations of free broadcast time on radio and television during Federal, State and Territory election campaigns for party political purposes. Details of the ABC policy on this can be found at this ABC fact sheet. We are posting links to all the free time broadcasts through this page http://www.abc.net.au/elections/wa/2008/partyannouncements/

These by-eletions are being held on the same day as the Western Australian election. Normally we would publish by-election results on the night. Unfortunately, computers and staff are going to be devoted to the WA election that afternoon and evening, so we won't be able to publish by-election results.

Comments

Just a tip,Darling Ranges is being shown as a Labor held seat...It belongs to the hard working Lib Tony Simpson ,who'd be celebrating his first successful defence about now....

Comment: Read the electorate profile for Darling Range, it's all explained there. If you still think the seat should be classified as Liberal held, I suggest you go and try the same logic to the following seats: Bunbury, Geraldton, Albany, Kalamunda, Moore, Collie-Preston, Blackwood-Stirling and Moore. And Darling Range is held by John Day, not Tony Simpson, just to complicate the logic even further.

Redistributions always create this havoc, and one as extensive as the recent WA redistribution makes it especially so. You can define sitting MPs as holding candidates, but you also have to classify each seat as being held by a party. When the holding party clashes with the holding candidate, there is confusion, but I'm yet to find a better method than classifying seats based on votes at the previous election.

There are so many inconsistencies/mistakes in your summary of the seats. For example: You have written 'Lib Retain' against some seats that are held by ALP, and when you click to the actual seat, ALP has retained it. Also, there are other seats where you say one of the parties is ahead, and when you click to the seat, another party is ahead and is predicted to win. There are too many mistakes to list them. Thanks. Lesley.

COMMENT: Do you mean on the results pages, or on the static pages? If you can point to specific seats it will help. Are you sure you are just not confusing the effects of the redistribution? I'm not aware at all of the problem you are referring to, so any examples will help.